Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Psychiatry. Sep 19, 2026; 16(9): 119050
Published online Sep 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.119050
Published online Sep 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.119050
Post-traumatic sleep disturbance and psychological distress after chest trauma: A five-year observational study of incidence, predictors, recovery outcomes
Zhong-Yi Sun, Hao Gong, Peng-Zhi Zhu, Hong-Gang Xia, De-Qing Zhu, Hai-Quan Zhang, Ji-Hui Zhang, Dong-Bin Wang, Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Tianjin Hospital Affiliated to Tianjin University, Tianjin 300200, China
Co-first authors: Zhong-Yi Sun and Hao Gong.
Author contributions: Sun ZY and Gong H were responsible for study conception and design, patient recruitment, data collection, and drafting of the manuscript; Zhu PZ and Xia HG participated in clinical data acquisition, follow-up assessments, and preliminary data analysis; Zhu DQ and Zhang HQ contributed to questionnaire administration, data management, and interpretation of clinical findings; Zhang JH performed the statistical analysis and assisted in data interpretation; Wang DB conceived and supervised the study, provided critical revisions for important intellectual content, and approved the final version of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. Sun ZY and Gong H contributed equally to this work as co-first authors.
Supported by Tianjin Youth Medical Talents Fund, No. TJSQNYXXR-D2-142; Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin, No. 24JCZDJC01170; and Key Research Projects of Tianjin Hospital Science and Technology, No. TJYYQ2403.
Institutional review board statement: This study has been reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Tianjin Hospital, No. 2024-198.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare that there is no conflict of interest.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Dong-Bin Wang, MD, Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Tianjin Hospital Affiliated to Tianjin University, No. 406 Jiefang South Road, Tianjin 300200, China. tjdgwdb@126.com
Received: March 3, 2026
Revised: March 26, 2026
Accepted: April 8, 2026
Published online: September 19, 2026
Processing time: 173 Days and 21.8 Hours
Revised: March 26, 2026
Accepted: April 8, 2026
Published online: September 19, 2026
Processing time: 173 Days and 21.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This five-year observational study of 128 chest trauma patients reveals that sleep disturbance affects over 70% of patients at discharge, with one-third experiencing persistent problems at one year. We identified Injury Severity Score ≥ 16, multiple rib fractures, and elevated baseline post-traumatic stress symptoms as independent predictors of chronic sleep disturbance. The strong association between sleep problems and psychological distress suggests that integrated screening and early intervention protocols may significantly improve long-term recovery outcomes in this vulnerable population.